Kovu's exile/Main article
Kovu's exile is a punishment in the form of expulsion from the Pride Lands performed on Kovu by Simba due to the king's conviction that Kovu tried to help Zira assassinate him. Information Background One day, Simba and Kovu walk through an area of the Pride Lands that still suffers from Scar's poor reign, and Simba tells Kovu the true story of Scar. Suddenly, Zira appears, and her pride surrounds Simba and Kovu. Then Zira congratulates Kovu for bringing Simba with him, pretending that their chance meeting was planned. Believing Zira's words, Simba angrily turns on Kovu, as he thinks Kovu tricked him and was behind the plot. In response, a scared Kovu truthfully denies this, but Simba won't listen to him. Zira then orders her pride to attack Simba, and Kovu immediately retaliates in the defense of Simba only to be kicked unconscious by Vitani. The Outsiders chase Simba into the gorge, where he begins to scale a wall of logs to escape. Having revived, Kovu rushes to Simba's aid and tries to help him, ignoring Zira's orders to kill the king. After Kovu runs off, Nuka, in an attempt to prove himself, tries to follow Simba and finish him off for Zira. He is overjoyed, as this is now his "moment of glory," when he grabs Simba's leg. However, he slips and is crushed by falling logs. Zira lifts up a log to see her eldest son barely alive. He apologizes for failing her before he dies. Meanwhile, Simba has escaped but is badly injured. Luckily, Kiara, Timon, and Pumbaa find him and take him back to Pride Rock. Zira blames Kovu for Nuka's death and slashes him across the face, scarring Kovu in an identical manner to Scar. Kovu defies his mother for the first time and runs back to Pride Rock. The Exile Many animals are gathered around Pride Rock, concerned about the condition of their king, who is trying to recover from the ambush. After she hears about what happened in the gorge, Kiara tries to convince Simba that there must be a mistake, as Kovu could not possibly be involved in the assassination. In the middle of the argument, Kovu appears, walking nervously through the animals. Kiara is thrilled to see him healthy and alive, but Simba jumps to his feet, roaring angrily, and comes to the edge of the rock. Timon threatens to attack Kovu and begins to run at him, yelling, "Let me at 'im!" He then realizes that no one is holding him back, so he tells Pumbaa to hold his tail. Cheerfully, the warthog agrees. Timon then continues to yell, but Pumbaa takes him seriously and lets him go. Annoyed, Timon tells Pumbaa that he's missed the point. Kovu stops beneath Pride Rock while the animals stand aside for his passage. Simba angrily asks Kovu why he had returned to Pride Rock after what he did, but Kovu claims that he had had nothing to do with the ambush. Simba, raising his tone of voice, snarls that Kovu does not belong in his kingdom. Kovu humbly asks for his forgiveness, and Kiara insists that Simba listen to him, but he tells her to be silent by yelling "Silence!". He then turns and says to Kovu that he has been convicted. Kiara is on the verge of tears, and Nala also looks worried when Simba yells, "Exile!". Kiara gasps in shock and Kovu is horrified. In answer, the animals begin to dramatically howl and kick their feet into the ground, trying to bring tension to Kovu. They then start to sing the song "One of Us." Horrified, Kiara tries to run to Kovu, but two lionesses bar her way. Simba looks at Kovu with hatred until the young lion slowly pulls off a cliff, and two antelope accelerate his departure, threatening to attack him with their horns. Most of the animals are commenting that Kovu's actions are full of "disgrace" and "deception," and disgustedly turn their heads from Scar's heir. Antelope begin to chase him with horns, ostriches peck at his mane, and monkeys pelt him with rocks. While he runs away from the rocks, a flock of birds follows Kovu and aggressively pecks at him. He jumps into a stream and sadly turns back to the Pridelanders and Simba, whose hatred does not disappear. The two lionesses that had blocked Kiara's way get distracted, and Kiara manages to skip past them, but it is the appearance of another two lionesses that stop her again. Kovu sadly bends his head toward the water, and his reflection suddenly transforms into Scar's. Kovu, in panic and fear, runs away from his reflection and flees to a meadow. For the last time, he turns his head to Pride Rock and sadly continues his departure. From afar, Rafiki watches and sighs sadly. Trivia * When Kovu sees Scar's reflection instead of his, it is the same image used in the first film, where Scar orders the hyenas to kill Simba after he himself kills Mufasa, merely distorted by the rippling water. Gallery Lion-king2-disneyscreencaps-6822.png Lion-king2-disneyscreencaps-6968.png Lion-king2-disneyscreencaps-7123.png Click here to view the rest of the gallery. Media "One of Us"|Kovu's exile Category:Main articles